TV News

Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management' Premiere Sets Ratings Record

By:
Brian Marder

Jun 29, 2012 | 12:35pm EDT

The series premiere of Charlie Sheen's Anger Management set a ratings record on Thursday night, proving once again that Sheen's real-life behavior doesn't matter much to TV viewers. If anything, it helps his shows!

Nearly six million people (5.74 million, to be exact) tuned in to the premiere of Anger Management on FX, making the sitcom the most-watched scripted comedy broadcast in cable history, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Not a bad start to Sheen's career after Two and a Half Men — which, it's worth noting, finished off its first post-Sheen season with ratings almost exactly twice that of the Anger Management pilot. In other words: Great numbers for Sheen's new show, not-so-great numbers for his old one.

The high ratings had an impact on the entire FX lineup Thursday night, aiding the numbers posted by the season premieres of Louie and Wilfred before Anger Management debuted, and then likely catapulting the first-ever episode of Russell Brand's Brand X afterward, to the tune of 1.1 million viewers — which is very solid for a series premiere at 11 p.m. on basic cable. So, can Sheen's Anger Management avoid the inevitable season-long drop in ratings that seems to plague most shows about which the public is merely curious? Only time — and maybe his off-screen antics — will tell.